Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

ZINTEK 200 F

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Used in electroplating processes.

SYNONYMS

"Atotech Taiwan", "SAP 1676166"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Risk of serious damage to eyes.
HARMFUL - May cause lung damage if swallowed.
Flammable.
Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long- term adverse effects in the
aquatic environment.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Swallowing of the liquid may cause aspiration into the lungs with the risk of chemical pneumonitis; serious consequences may result. (ICSC13733).  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  Soluble zinc salts produces irritation and corrosion of the alimentary tract with pain, and vomiting. Death can occur due to insufficiency of food intake due to severe narrowing of the esophagus and pylorus.  At sufficiently high doses the material may be neurotoxic(i.e. poisonous to the nervous system).  

EYE

  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  

SKIN

  There is some evidence to suggest that the material may cause mild but significant inflammation of the skin either following direct contact or after a delay of some time. Repeated exposure can cause contact dermatitis which is characterized by redness, swelling and blistering.  Toxic amounts of PGME may be absorbed through the skin following extensive prolonged contact ; this may result in drowsiness. Constant contact with the beta-isomer, on the skin of rabbits, for several weeks caused very mild, simple irritation. Dose rates of 10 mg/kg produced incomplete anaesthesia, depression, and slight increase in kidney weights in test animals.  Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material.  Entry into the blood-stream, through, for example, cuts, abrasions or lesions, may produce systemic injury with harmful effects. Examine the skin prior to the use of the material and ensure that any external damage is suitably protected.  Toxic effects may result from skin absorption.  2,4-Pentadione may produce contact dermatitis or urticaria. Prolonged contact with 2,4-  pentanedione may produce severe discomfort or pain, redness and swelling and corrosion, ulceration and development of fissures. The inflamed area may show bleeding.  

INHALED

  Inhalation may produce health damage*.  Inhalation of vapors or aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be damaging to the health of the individual.  There is some evidence to suggest that the material can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage.  Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures.  The odour of PGME becomes objectionable at 100 ppm and intolerable with anaesthetic effects at 1000 ppm. High vapour concentrations (above 1000 ppm) are intolerable due to severe eye, nose and throat irritation. Odour is transiently objectionable above 100 ppm. Obvious sedation, increased liver weights and reduced specific gravity of the urine were found in animals subject to concentrations of 3000 ppm PGME.  Inhalation may produce central nervous system depression. High concentrations of the beta-  isomer produced slight growth depression and slight liver change and lung effects in rats and mice.  At sufficiently high doses the material may be neurotoxic(i.e. poisonous to the nervous system).  Headache, fatigue, lassitude, irritability and gastrointestinal disturbances (e.g., nausea, anorexia and flatulence) are the most common symptoms of xylene overexposure. Injury to the heart, liver, kidneys and nervous system has also been noted amongst workers. Transient memory loss, renal impairment, temporary confusion and some evidence of disturbance of liver function was reported in three workers overcome by gross exposure to xylene (10000 ppm). One worker died and autopsy revealed pulmonary congestion, oedema and focal alveolar haemorrhage. Volunteers inhaling xylene at 100 ppm for 5 to 6 hours showed changes in manual coordination reaction time and slight ataxia. Tolerance developed during the workweek but was lost over the weekend. Physical exercise may antagonise this effect. Xylene body burden in humans exposed to 100 or 200 ppm xylene in air depends on the amount of body fat with 4% to 8% of total absorbed xylene accumulating in adipose tissue.  Xylene is a central nervous system depressant.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Ample evidence exists, from results in experimentation, that developmental disorders are directly caused by human exposure to the material.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  There is limited evidence that, skin contact with this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population.  Repeated oral doses of 3 g/kg produced minor changes in the liver and kidneys in rats. Repeated doses on the skin over a 90-day period resulted in absorption and anaesthetic death at 7-10 ml/kg/day. Mild narcosis was observed after topical application of 2-4 ml/kg/day.  Administration of 2% PGME in drinking water ad libitum to males for 25 days did not elicit significant changes in testes or seminal vesicle and coagulating gland weights or in peripheral leukocyte counts. No significant testicular toxicity was found in rats or rabbits that were exposed at up to 3000 PGME, 6 hours/day, 5 days/week for 13 weeks. Oral and parenteral administration to pregnant rabbits, mice and rats did not induce congenital malformations at concentrations up to 1800 mg/kg/day.  In a study on the teratogenic potential of the acetate of the beta-isomer (2-methoxy-1-  propyl acetate), a significant increase in the number of litters with abnormal rats and rabbits was found after inhalation exposure by the mothers to 2700 ppm or 550 ppm, respectively, on days 6 to 15, or 6 to 18 of gestation. The rabbit inhalation no-observed-  adverse effect concentration was 145 ppm. A similar embryotoxicity profile was seen after inhalation of 2-methoxy-1-propanol (beta-PGMA). In contrast to the alpha-isomer, beta-  PGMA is oxidised in rats to 2-methoxypropionic acid.  Male dogs exposed to the beta-isomer, developed numerous spermiophages in epididymi. Administration of high doses of the beta-isomer to rats, by gavage, caused delayed ossification of the skull of rat foetus.  Whilst alpha-PGMA undergoes hepatic O-demethylation as the principal pathway, the beta-  isomer is detoxified by alcohol/ aldehyde dehydrogenase. Commercial PGME contains low concentrations of the beta-isomer.  Welding or flame cutting of metals with zinc or zinc dust coatings may result in inhalation of zinc oxide fume; high concentrations of zinc oxide fume may result in "metal fume fever"; also known as "brass chills", an industrial disease of short duration. [I.L.O] Symptoms include malaise, fever, weakness, nausea and may appear quickly if operations occur in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas.  Steam-cracked residues can increase the incidence of skin tumors.  Prolonged or repeated contact with xylenes may cause defatting dermatitis with drying and cracking. Chronic inhalation of xylenes has been associated with central nervous system effects, loss of appetite, nausea, ringing in the ears, irritability, thirst anaemia, mucosal bleeding, enlarged liver and hyperplasia. Exposure may produce kidney and liver damage. In chronic occupational exposure, xylene (usually mix ed with other solvents) has produced irreversible damage to the central nervous system and ototoxicity (damages hearing and increases sensitivity to noise), probably due to neurotoxic mechanisms.  Industrial workers exposed to xylene with a maximum level of ethyl benzene of 0.06 mg/l (14 ppm) reported headaches and irritability and tired quickly. Functional nervous system disturbances were found in some workers employed for over 7 years whilst other workers had enlarged livers.  Xylene has been classed as a developmental toxin in some jurisdictions.  Small excess risks of spontaneous abortion and congenital malformation were reported amongst women exposed to xylene in the first trimester of pregnancy. In all cases, however, the women were also been exposed to other substances. Evaluation of workers chronically exposed to xylene has demonstrated lack of genotoxicity. Exposure to xylene has been associated with increased risks of haemopoietic malignancies but, again, simultaneous exposure to other substances (including benzene) complicates the picture. A long-term gavage study to mixed xylenes (containing 17% ethyl benzene) found no evidence of carcinogenic activity in rats and mice of either sex.